This post is going to be kinda long so sorry in advance, but I’m frustrated and I feel like I need to vent. Sorry, not sorry.

One of the biggest reason why just was completely uninspired by the Beauty / Social Media Influencer communities is purely that it seems so incredibly fake and full of consumerism. I spent every day annoyed by the people I was following shoving products and codes and commissioned links down my throat. I felt like EVERY post, every IG story was just an excuse to get you to buy something so that they could make a penny. Don’t get me wrong I get this is how most of these women make their money, but you also have to remember, a lot of them also receive products for free (in exchange for a review/post) OR even get paid to post and talk about the products. ANY link I give you goes DIRECTLY to the product and where I bought it, and I don’t get a commission off of it. Why? Honestly, I feel like when I know there’s profit to be made I would rather push that product/item, than one I like better that doesn’t give me a commission and I’m SURE that’s how most of the community thinks.

This video by Marlena from Makeup Geek says it all:

Also, the constant pressure of buying the coolest newest thing was making me waste SOOO much money on things I used once or twice. I was drowning in products that I just didn’t love because EVERY big influencer was talking about it. Thanks, but no thanks. My hard earned money will be saved for vacations or things I really want (like my dream home). Also, does anyone remember LOVING their beauty products to death before finding out a new palette or item was going to be released? I do. I miss the feeling of being excited for a new item & new product, but thanks to the beauty influencers a new product is launched basically every day and honestly, the products are starting to get BORING and gimmicky. All the palettes look the same (hello 8,000,000 nude palettes) or are basically the same thing as another palette they ALREADY launched with “limited edition” packaging. That’s nice. I would much rather companies actually put time, effort and thought into an actual new product. Originality is dead amongst the beauty community.

The lifestyle influencers are almost as bad. Every time I’m on IG it’s like being on the home shopping network. It’s like ‘Look at all the stuff you can buy and should buy’ and ‘Oh btw you have to use all my links just to find out who makes/sells it, so you I get a cut of the profits’. I would rather see a lifestyle influencer show closet staples, and how to wear them, vs showing me new stuff they got over and over, I don’t have that kind of budget to keep buying new stuff. Also, as much as I love Nordstroms (and I LOVE Nordstroms), my budget is more like Target and maybe Nordstrom Rack, and that’s where most of the links end up taking me. For once, I wish it would be like the old days where people posted things and just tagged the company that makes it. I don’t want to have to download an app that doesn’t even work on my phone the way it’s supposed to, to have to find your picture and finally get to a link that has to load through like 4 different links to finally get to the product only to find out its not only WAY out of my price range or something I would never be able to fit into. I wish they would teach me how to pair clothes because as much as I love fashion, I also feel seriously fashionably impaired (which is why I don’t post outfit ideas, just things I like and have bought). I wish instead of thinking about them making a buck, they would think about the fact that their followers don’t have the kind of money to spend and aren’t receiving products for free. They already get free products and are often paid to just talk about or even just show an unboxing of their products, do they really need to get a cut of our shopping excursion? I would much rather know my followers are saving themselves money by using EBATES or the HONEY app (an app on Google Chrome not sure if it’s available elsewhere) for coupons and cash back on their purchases. Don’t get me wrong. I get that putting together posts, curating products, taking photos and other stuff is a lot of hard work, but it always seems to be more about the money than it is about sharing their passion. Like I’ve noticed if you ask them (not all but a lot) about something they don’t get a sponsorship from or can’t put a commissioned link to, they just won’t answer.

Anyway, this rant has gone on long enough. I’m just glad that I can be back blogging. Even if no one reads or I only have like 5 followers that actually follow my blog, I’ve realized that I blog for ME. It’s like a journal I’m willing to share with people and an excuse to talk about things that I can’t with my friends (most of them aren’t huge on fashion or beauty which is fine we have many other common interests), so thanks if you made it through this post and let me know how you feel about the social media community as of late.